Oh, how far things have come since then. Today, a bowhunter has a plethora of sight manufacturers, models and types to choose from. Of course one of the most significant additions to the sight market technology has been the fiber optic pin. It is hard to imagine a sight without them. Even the fiber optic pins have not remained stagnant and have seen many innovative configurations. Also, design enhancements have been introduced such as round pin guards, super fine adjustment systems, compact fixturing and light-weight models.
I have personally spoken with many of the engineers and owners from the companies listed here. One thing that strikes me about our conversations is the level of passion and focus that most of them have. They strive day in and day out to produce the next bow sight “home run”. And here they are……
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www.extremearchery.com
Extreme Archery Model 800 Recon
The folks at Extreme have made a slow and steady climb up the sight manufacturing ladder and now “run with the big dogs” as the saying goes. The first sight I evaluated for them, over two years ago, impressed me with its simplistic yet very effective design. Up to that point I hadn’t even heard of them. Their line of target and hunting sights has grown significantly in recent years.
When I first picked up the relatively long Recon its super light weight surprised me. It has a 6” dovetail extension with a quick release knob and a 3rd axis adjustment. The sight looks great in Realtree’s HD Camo and is also available in Realtree HD Green and Satin Black anodized finish. Also featured on the recon is Extreme’s Offset Pin Design (O.P.D.) which allows for extra long pins that gather more light. Other notable elements of the Recon include a reflective orange peep alignment ring, bubble level and threaded pin guard that accepts powered lenses.
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www.trophyridge.com
Trophy Ridge Titan
POW! That is how Trophy Ridge hit the market in 2000 and they show no sign of slowing. There has never been a sight company that took the market by storm quite like this. The Trophy Ridge team is highly motivated and relentless in their innovation. These advancements include Vertical Pin Technology, “No Tools”, built in Dual Harmonic Dampeners and now the V-Drive and unique Micro Adjust System.
In an effort to bring the high quality of a target sight together with the ruggedness and simplicity of a hunting sight, Trophy Ridge designed the new 2005 single pin Titan. The Titan has almost all of the features listed above packed into one unit. The V-Drive, a real time yardage adjuster, uses 50% less parts than the competition. Choose from a .019” micro pin or the .039” Ultra Titan pin. An optional LED light and Power Plus lens are available. Matchtek Anodizing rounds out the package.
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Pse-archery.com
Top Gun Slider
Top Gun Archery Accessories, a division of PSE Archery, introduces the 2005 Slider moveable pin bow sight. The Slider features a single fiber optic pin on a pedestal mount at the bottom of the round pin guard. The fiber is coiled inside a protective, clear plastic housing mounted to the rear of the pin guard. An oversized thumbscrew quickly releases the pivoting mechanism that moves the entire aluminum sight head up and down for exact positioning. The slide lever has a pin that correlates to set yardages on the rear marking tape. A unique micro adjustable windage adjustment made with durable stainless steel components allows for precise tuning. A bubble level and Glo-Ring reflective peep sight centering system round out the package.
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Top Gun Nighthawk
An all new archery accessory company, Top Gun, released their new 2005 Nighthawk sight. Designed to provide visible pins during all legal shooting hours, the Nighthawk employs long strands of fiber spooled inside a clear protective container attached to the back of the sight body. The long red, green and amber fibers feed the three pins that are held in two separate tracks. The two track design makes zero gap pin spacing possible. A vibration absorbing gasket cushions the fiber spool housing for ultra quiet shooting. The Nighthawk’s round pin guard and reflective peep sight alignment ring allow for accurate target acquisition in low light conditions. All of the Nighthawk’s major components are CNC machined from high grade aluminum for durability and ruggedness. Available options include the IndiGlo Sight Light and Top Gun Sight Level that mounts in the pin slots.
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www.fusearchery.com
FUSE Buckhorn 300 Coil
Fuse, a brand new accessory company for 2005, exploded onto the market with one of the most unique product lineups in the industry. Their Custom Series Sight line allows the archer to customize the look and functionality of the sight to match their individual needs and appearance preferences. Sights can be chosen with one of four distinctive machined aluminum designs, each with six different pin housing options. All four base models are equipped with Fuse’s Shock Rod vibration dampening technology.
The Buckhorn 300 Coil is available in either standard or micro adjustable versions, has three pins with fibers that are coiled inside a clear plastic tube that is situated to the right of the round pin guard. A painted peep sight alignment ring and built in bubble level come standard. The mounting bracket is machined into the shape of a whitetail buck head – it looks great and expresses the shooters passion for the sport!
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www.spot-hogg.com
Spot Hogg Hunter Hogg-It
On October 18th , 2003 I killed the largest buck of my life, a 140.0” 10 point bruiser taken in Ashland County Ohio. It was also the longest shot I have ever taken on any animal – 35 yards. The pins on my Spot Hogg were glowing with just the right amount of brightness in the fading light and my arrow took out both lungs. It was a great night.
Spot Hogg has gained a reputation for incredible ruggedness and durability. One of their advertisements shows two guys perched atop one sight with no apparent damage to the unit. I can attest to their durability and other top notch design features.
The 6061 aircraft grade aluminum Hunter Hogg-It features no-clamp gang adjustments and 2nd and 3rd axis leveling. This virtually indestructible sight also sports a reflective sighting ring painted around the circular pin guard, 5 individually micro adjustable metal pins, vertical gapping wire and a bubble level. Loaded!
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www.montanablackgold.com
Black Gold Dusk Devil 2
Year after year the team at Black Gold produces high quality hunting sights with useful innovations designed to make you a better shot. The first sight they sent me four years back was solid and easy to adjust. I’ve taken several big game animals with Black Gold sights since that time.
The Dusk Devil 2, introduced in 2004, is loaded down with features! The key to this sight is found in Black Gold’s patented Straight Away Pins that do not bend; instead the long axis of the pin is positioned in line with the shooter’s eye. It also has a useful third axis adjustment and a vertical tilt adjustment to minimize the pin profile. Also found on the Devil 2 is a 3-Point Centering System in the guard, ultra thin pin bodies and the Devil’s Tail bow torque indicator.
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FUSE Monarch 600
Like the Buckhorn, the Monarch 600 is found in the Fuse Custom Series Sight line. Six pins, wrapped with fiber optic rods, are individually adjustable and situated in an elongated housing for additional sighting range. The 600 has a built in bubble level, drilled and tapped pin light mounting hole, reflective peep sight alignment ring and Fuse’s own Shock Rod vibration dampening technology. Finishes are available in Realtree HD Green, Realtree HD Brown, silver and brown. Standard or micro gang adjustments are offered.
The Monarch has an elk shaped mounting bracket that, along with the elongated pin guard, screams, “Take me out west!”
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www.truglo.com
TruGlo Brite Site Xtreme
The fiber optic sight pin revolution started with one company – TruGlo. These days you can’t easily find a sight-pin that doesn’t incorporate this technology and quite frankly, who would want to? TruGlo is now in its eleventh year and still going strong, producing high quality sights of many configurations. In fact, I believe the TruGlo design team has taken it up a notch with their 2005 lineup!
TruGlo’s new Brite Site Xtreme has a large round circular field of vision with a 2” inner diameter aperture. A red bubble level with two vertical bars is situated at the bottom of the light weight composite pin guard. The round pin guard also features a glow-in-the-dark peep sight alignment ring. TruGlo’s Lite-All pin light shines an ultra bright violet LED beam onto the pins for low light visibility. Graduated windage and elevation marks make precise adjustments easy.
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Trophy Ridge Rhino
Trophy Ridge’s Rhino is advertised as the ultimate vertical pin sight that delivers rugged dependability with unmatched accuracy. The rhino is built solid in every respect. Four patented Vertical Drop Pins and one Rhino Up pin create a unobstructed field of view on the longest range pins.
Loaded with standard features like a quick detach system, vertical/horizontal micro adjustment, right and left hand models, large shooter bubble level and torque adjustment the Rhino is built to perform! Also available on the Rhino is an optional LED light and Power Plus lens.
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Black Gold Skylight
Many archers want bright pins – the brighter the better! If you fit into that category Black Gold’s new Skylight is certain to catch your eye. Taking advantage of the fact that light comes from above the engineers at Black Gold introduced the new SkyCoil Technology. Black Gold advertises a 300% increase in light gathering and transferring efficiency with this technology. The SkyCoil is a clear plastic fixture that houses the end of the pin fibers in a tightly coiled bundle attached to the top of the pin guard. When I first looked at the Skylight I thought for sure there must be an external artificial light source – but alas, there was none!
Other Skylight features include a full metal pin guard with a peep alignment ring painted in “extreme white”, built in bubble level, calibrated gang adjustments and a sharp Multi-Match camo finish.
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www.cobraarchery.com
Cobra Viper
Cobra is one of the icons of the archery industry and has gained a reputation as a leader in Bowhunting product manufacturing. Every year they bring new and useful creations to market that benefit thousands of archers the world over. They are a class act.
Cobra Sights feature durable and rugged all metal construction including all sight bodies, windage slides and extensions. Precision machined dovetail joints are held to exact tolerances (+/- .005”) for ease of movement when adjustments are made and a solid lock down when the desired position is reached.
The Viper is outfitted with a round pin guard, reflective peep sight alignment ring, no tools vertical adjustment, calibrated gang adjustments, 3 TKO .029” diameter fiber optic pins and a target quality dovetail slide bar extension with a large knurled knob for ease of adjustment. Also featured is a dual-angled sight track for the closest possible sight pin settings, a built in bubble level and a compact UV light module for enhanced low light performance.
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Cobra Sidewinder Radiant Sight
The first bow sight I ever owned was a Cobra and chances are, at least if you are as old as I am, it was your first as well. Back then they were one of the few and proud! These days there are many bow sight manufacturers and Cobra still holds a top spot in the market.
The Sidewinder Radiant possesses all of the features of other top-of-the-line Cobra sights including all metal construction, precision machined dovetail joints and a lifetime warranty.
Beyond that, it also sports super bright pins that are lit by over 2 feet of fiber coiled inside a clear housing that is conveniently positioned on the side of the sight. A UV light module illuminates the pin tips from inside the coiled fiber optics for the dim lighting conditions encountered during that magical 1st and last hour of light. One of my favorite features on the Sidewinder radiant is the no-tools windage and elevation adjustments. Other notable elements include a built in bubble level, calibrated gang adjustments and a dark composite cover expressly designed to fit snugly over the wrapped fiber-optic housing for bright mid-day shooting.
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www.toxonics.com
Toxonics Top Dog 50
Growing up in this sport I remember a time when one of the only names in super high quality competition target sights was Toxonics. At the time I wasn’t even sure if anyone else made a high-end target sight. The point is that the folks at Toxonics have the experience and know-how to make great bow sights.
The 2005 Top Dog 50 features a 50mm machined aluminum pin guard as well as a fluorescent yellow peep sight alignment ring for increased accuracy. The mounting bracket acts as a reversible offset extension bar to fit the sighting window of any bow or shooting style. Precision settings are possible with the graduated gang adjustments. Three individually adjustable fiber optic pins and a built in bubble level round out the package.
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www.carolinaarcheryprod.com
Carolina Foxfire SP
For 2005 the Carolina Archery design team sat down at the drawing board with a goal of creating a practical family of bowsights that made sense and above all – performed. The result of their efforts is the all new Foxfire family. This line is made up of two extremely lightweight aircraft aluminum construction models that look good and have many useful features.
The Foxfire SP or Single Pin model has one single pedestal pin that rises from the bottom of the round pin guard. The fiber is fed through a small hole in the guard and then wrapped around its entire circumference for increased light gathering abilities. A small bubble level is also built in at the base of the pin. One of the more impressive features is the ultra simplistic no-tools windage and elevation adjustments, both of which have calibrated markings for precise positioning. The black face of the round pin guard is etched with white radial lines to help the archer automatically align a peep sight. This Spectral Distribution Technology is the heart of Carolina’s patent pending contrast ring.
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Carolina Foxfire TP
The Foxfire TP or Triple Pin has the exact same mounting bracket and windage post as the Foxfire SP. In fact, they are interchangeable. Other similarities include lightweight aircraft grade aluminum construction, Spectral Distribution Technology for easy peep sight alignment and a built in bubble level.
The two differ not only in the number of pins but more importantly the technology behind the TP model’s patent pending micro adjustable pins. The pins are housed in a fixture that moves vertically up and down within the pin guard on two stainless steel rods. One rod is threaded while the other has a smooth O.D. A knurled brass wheel sandwiched in the fixture spins on the threaded rod forcing the fixture either up or down. A brass locking knob holds the pin in place when the correct position is found. It is one slick feature! The top of the pin guard is also drilled and tapped to accept an artificial light source.
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www.hindsightco.com
Hind Sight Cross Fire and Extreme
The Hind Sight technology is based on one central them – do away with your peep sight! Peep sights are infamous for restricting light, twisting and just generally getting in the way. If you use a peep sight that is held true with rubber tubing you can add to that list.
The Hind Sight takes the “2nd” sight off of the string (peep sight) and solidly mounts it to the rear of the riser in the form of a sight ring which is molded of nylon and houses crosshairs that contain Proglow 20, an advanced photo luminescent material that can glow up to 14 hours in total darkness. The Cross Fire is a total sight system including both the rear and front sights on the same bracket. The front sight comes standard with three ProWrap fiber optic sight pins on a dual slotted pin rail for the closest pin settings. The front pin guard is matched in circumference with the rear sight ring for scope like sighting.
The Extreme on the other hand is an add-on rear mounted sight designed to be used with a current hunting sight. The mounting bracket extends the front sight forward to create a greater distance between it and the rear sight aperture. The longer that distance the more accurate the system.
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